BEEVILLE – The work continues as the criminal justice arm of the county tries to reach the 90 percentile of cases completed in order to ensure that local entities and groups are able to continue receiving state and federal grants.

Mirella Escamilla Davis, county clerk, said at the last Commissioners Court meeting that she was confident the county would make this by the end of July.

The county is required to report the disposition of criminal cases to the state. The county’s disposition rate must be at 90 percent or better for all prior years in order to receive state and federal grants.

Of the 184 cases that still need some resolution, 129 are still pending, she highlighted from her report.

“The numbers are increasing, and we should be OK,” she said. “By the end of July, we should be at 90 percent, if not sooner.

“Then we will have to maintain reports.”

For 2011, the county has reached a disposition rate of 85 percent — up from the beginning of the month when this was only 78 percent.

Overall, for the last five years though, the county is 90 percent.

“That is really good,” she said. “We are still continuing to work on this, but we have to wait on the county attorney before we can do our part.”

At the end of May, the county was just 78 percent, according to state data.

And Bee is not alone in this deficiency. Live Oak County, likewise, was at 78 percent during that same period for 2011. McMullen County had reached 86 percent.

Refugio County, on the other hand, was above that 90 percent mark for the past five years. Goliad and Karnes counties had also both surpassed the 90 percent mark.

The issue came to light some months back but became more of a concern when it was learned that one local agency was losing out on dollars because of it.

Earlier this year, Crime Stoppers officials notified county commissioners that they anticipated not being able to receive one of their grants estimated at more than $8,000.

The county has until Aug. 31 to reach this 90 percent mark in order to ensure grants are received next year.

The sheriff’s office, for example, received $160,000 in grants last year, and over the past four years, the grants totaled more than a million dollars.